Method for securing fittings to wire structures



March 15, 1949. A, E, BBBBBB AN 2,464,432

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METHOD FOR SECURING FITTINGS T0 WIRE STRUCTURES Filed Nov. 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /1 J0 4 47 j; lwefzlaf:

4mm E. 50a/MAW March 15, 1949. A. E. BRICKMAN METHOD FOR SECURING FITTINGS TO WIRE STRUCTURES Filed NOV` 13, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q1! I 4 l Inveidaf': m/v i 5PM/(M4N, fg" i S/farm@ Patented Mar. l5, 1949 METHOD FOR SECURING FITTINGS T WIRE STRUCTURES Alan E. Brlckman,

New Haven, Conn., assigner to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application November 1s, 1944, seran No. 503,286

1 Claim. (Cl. 14o-11) l It is broadly cid in the prior art to secure wires and cables to fittings yby either swaging or drawing operations, but there-are inherent shortcomings in prior practice which the present invention eiectively overcomes. Heretofore, the wires or cables to be secured to a tting have, usually, been inserted into apertures extending lengthwise of the fitting and the wire or cable structures have made too loose a ilt with the apertures to permit quick and easy ultimate integration of the fitting with the Wire or cable elements. This has resulted in the slowing up of production methods.

It is one object of the invention to provide a method to overcome the above mentioned difllculties inherent in prior methods.

Another object is to provide an improved method for initially securing a fitting to a wire or rope-like structure to hold the parts in proper position to receive further integrating operations.

The above and further objects are made available by the improved method of construction and arrangement herein shown, described and claimed.

For a more complete understanding ofthe invention, reference should be made to the following detailed disclosure, the accompanying drawings and the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view of a wire netting whose coniponent strands are adapted to be secured by the improved method herein claimed; v

Figure2is aviewshowingtheinitialstepin the formation of the netting of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view illustrating a fitting secured permanently to a juxtaposed pair of rope elements;

Figure 4 is and end view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing an alternative adaptation of the invention;

Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view showing one of the initial steps in the method of securing a fitting to a pair of juxtaposed wire elements;

Figure 'I is an enlarged plan view of a .fitting l with a portion broken away and shown in section in the interest of clearness;

Figure 8 is an end view of Figure '1;

Figure 9 is a section on line m--IX of Figure 6 illustrating a step in the method of securing the fitting of Figure 7 to a pair of juxtaposed rope or wire elements;

2 of coacting grooved forming roll segments illustrating an intermediate stage wherein the fitting is cold formed to integrate it with a pair of substantially parallel rope or wire structures; and

Figure 12 is an end view of Figure ll. According to the improved method herein claimed, juxtaposed pairs of wire or rope-like structures arranged in substantially parallel relation are adapted to be quickly. yet effectively and permanently integrated with a fitting adapted to hold such rope or wire structures in the desired spaced relation to one another.

In Figure 1 the invention is illustrated as applied to a wire netting, the elemental strands I0 and I2 of which are secured to one another at many points 4by lmy improved fitting which is indicated as a whole at I4. In this adaptation of the invention, the elemental strands I 0 and I2 are initially placed in substantially parallel positions as shown in Figure 2 and the ttings I4 are applied to separate pairs of strands Ili and I2 at uniformly spaced locations, for example, at the different elevations shown in Figure 2. Thereafter the fabric is subjected to tension and expanded laterally to the position of Figure 1.

In the application of the invention illustrated in Figure 3 a pair of ropeelements IIA and IZA are integrated with one another by means of the fitting I4. Thus, Figure 3 may be considered as illustrating an intermediate step in the formation of the wire fabric of Figure l.' Figure 5 illustrates the ntting I4 as secured adjacent to an eye member Il of conventional form around which the loop Il is bent. the portions marked IIC and IOD of the rope or wire structure being secured to the fitting I4 in much the same man ner as are the parts It, IGA and I2A above referred to. In all adaptations of the invention referred to, the fittings I4 are preferably applied by the met'iod now to be described. This involves starting with a iltting I4, such as shown in Figure 7, having substantially parallel aper tures 20 and 22 extending longitudinally therethrough which are separated by a median wall portion 24. Midway between the ends of the fittings I4 and disposed substantially perpendicular to the axes of the apertures 2li and 22 is a transverse passageway 2G which in the embodiment of the invention illustrated is a circular hole whose diameter is slightly greater than the transverse thickness of the wall 24. Under the improved method of securing a juxtaposed pair of wire or rope-like elements to the fitting, I am sure that thekdiameters of the apertures 2l and '22 are of such a size that the juxtaposed rope or 3 wire-like elements can be freely entered therein. This facilitates ease and speed of the assembly and fabrication, but presents the problem or properly holding or positioning the fitting at desired locations on the wire or cable elements during handling or during further processing necessary to integrate the fittings with the Wire, or cable elements. I therefore provide for temporarily securing the relatively loose fitting wire or cable elements in the apertures 28 and 22 by driving through the passageway'26 a locking pin 430 having a tapered end 32. The diameter of this locking pin is designedly intended to .be materially smaller than the diameter of the passageway 25, but greater than the transverse thickness of the wall 24 so that when the pin is driven lthrough the passageway, it will wedgingly press both rope or wire-like elements outwardly so as f to cause them to be gripped or pinched and therefore quite securely held in the apertures and 22. As illustrated in Figure 6, if it should so happen that the valley portion 34 between the elemental strands 35 of one rope-like element should be disposed opposite the crest 38 of the companion rope-like element, the locking pin 30 will be capable of drifting or shifting laterally a necessaryv distance because of the provision of the slightly oversize passageway 25.`

The transverse locking pin, when initially wedgingly engaged with the wire elements slightly compresses and distorts the contacted portions thereof, thus slightly offsetting the wire elements at the portions where the locking pin grips them. This offsetting and Wedging action permits the use of a fitting having apertures of a size to allow sufficient-clearance to facilitate the quick and easy entry of wire elements of somewhat smaller diameter than of the apertures, yet once the holding pin is driven home thel parts are adequately held in readiness for the cold forming operation effected by the grooved roll segments 58 and 60 referred to hereinafter.

As shown in Figure 9, the cross sectional contour of the fitting I4 is such as to provide oppositely inclined portions 40 and 42 meeting at a central ridge portion 44. At the outer extremities 46 and 48 of the inclined portions, the upper and lower faces of the fitting flare upwardly and outwardly as indicated at 50 and 52. The outermost upright faces 54 and 56 are substantially or approximately arcuate and concentric with the axes of the apertures 20 and- 22 as shown. The contour shown and described provides a desirable metal distribution to permit of a cold forming operation effective to cause the metal to ow so as to produce a finished fitting having the contour in end view shown in Figure 4.

The cold forming operation to bring about this transformation of thefitting and to thoroughly and permanently integrate the fitting with the juxtaposed rope-like or wire elements is accomplished by subjecting the fitting, `with the rope or cable-like elementary temporarily secured thereto by the locking pin 30, to the action of cold forming roll segments 58 and 68 keyed to shafts 62 and 64 driven in any suitable manner. The roll segments 58 and 60 are formed with grooves 66 and 88. As shown in Figure 11, the roll segments 58 and 50, when rotated in the direction of the arrows, serve to gradually transform the sectional contour of the fitting from that shown in Figure 9 to that illustrated in Figures 4 and 12, thus flowing the metal from the outer portions 54 and 56 into the space between the inclined portions 40, 42 yand 58, 52, and at the same time decreasing the sectional area between the porintegrity of the bond between the elements I8 and l2 and the fitting is increased somewhat by the presence of the locking pin 30, due to its action in slightly offsetting the elements as the assemblage is compressed.

While I have described with great particularity detailed steps and detailed structural features which an actual reduction of practice has demonstrated to be highly desirable, it is to be understood that the description and drawings are to beinterpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, since various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

The method of securing a fitting to a wire element which comprises providing a fitting having a pair of longitudinally extending apertures therein separated by amedian wall, and having a transverse passageway of larger diameter than the thickness of said wall extending through said wall with its axis in a plane between saidapertures. loosely assembling a wire element in each aperture, inserting a member in said passageway to temporarily hold the wire' elements in said apertures, then subjecting the fitting to a forming loperation tocause a displacement of the metal thereof effective to permanently integrate the tting with said wire elements.

ALAN E. BRICKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 517,338 Garland Mar. 27, 1894 556,649 Smith Mar. 17, 1896 608,124 Hunt July 26, 1898 688,513 Hammond Dec. 10, 1901 1,059,124 Doxford Apr. 15, 1913 1,106,860 Bayton Aug. 11, 1914 1,686,538 Templeton Oct. 9, 1928 1,713,314 Wills May 14, 1929 1,957,530` Dibner May 8, 1934 2,038,535 Brenizer Apr, 28, 1936V 2,327,683 Warner et al Aug. 24, 1943 

